Yes, the melodies are memorable. For if you love country music, they're virtually a soundtrack of the '90s. And when delivered by the unmistakable voice of Clint Black, they can, indeed change your "State of Mind."

In the bleakest part of the winter of 1989, there was something fresh on the radio airwaves, a song called "A Better Man" that looked at a failed relationship through optimistic eyes. That summer, "Killin' Time" was a darker vision, a lyric loaded with metaphor and levels of meaning that took you to the scary edge of alcohol abuse. They were the opening salvos of an extraordinary career and the introduction to a troubadour so prolific he would fill six complete albums with original songs in as many years to come.

The memories they bring back are impressively vivid, from Clint's bluesy harmonica passages in "Put Yourself in My Shoes" to the soaring vocals traded with Wynonna on the lushly melodic "A Bad Goodbye," from the machine-gun syllables and propulsive percussion of "A Good Run of Bad Luck" to the trenchant, keenly crafted lyrics of the waltz "Burn One Down.